2009 Samsung 500

Texas Motor Speedway, were the race was held.

The 2009 Samsung 500 was the seventh of thirty-six scheduled stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.[3][6] It took place on April 5, 2009, in Fort Worth, Texas, at Texas Motor Speedway,[6] an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races.[7] The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[8] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch have a five degree banking.[8]

Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 959 points, followed by Clint Bowyer with 870. Kurt Busch was third with 827 points, Jimmie Johnson was fourth with 817 and Denny Hamlin was fifth with 811 points. Kurt's younger brother Kyle Busch, along with Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten.[9] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 39 points, five points ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford, with 32 points, was five points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third place.[10] Edwards was the race's defending champion.[11]

David Reutimann won pole position with the fastest time, 28.344.

Three practice sessions were before the Sunday race — one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The third and final practice session lasted 60 minutes.[3] During the first practice session, Mark Martin was fastest, placing ahead of David Reutimann in second and Kurt Busch in third. Greg Biffle was scored fourth, and Johnson placed fifth. Jeff Gordon, Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Stremme and David Ragan rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.[12]

Forty-eight drivers were entered in the qualifier on Friday afternoon;[13] according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times.[3] Reutimann clinched his second pole position in the Sprint Cup Series, with a time of 28.344. He was joined on the grid's front row by Jeff Gordon. Matt Kenseth qualified third, Ragan took fourth, and Paul Menard started fifth. Kahne, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Johnson and Joey Logano rounded out the top ten qualifiers. The five drivers who failed to qualify were Joe Nemechek, Scott Speed, Jeremy Mayfield, Todd Bodine and Scott Riggs.[14] After the qualifier Reutimann said, "We had a great car all day, right off the truck. This pole reminds me of how much things have changed for me in the past few years. I didn't make the field here two years ago, during a bad time in my racing career."[2]

On Saturday morning, Reuitmann was fastest in the second practice session, ahead of Johnson in second, and Hamlin in third. Edwards was fourth quickest, and Jeff Gordon took fifth. Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton rounded out the top ten.[15] Later that day, Johnson paced the final practice session, with Hamlin and Kyle Busch followed in second and third respectively. Jamie McMurray was fourth fastest, ahead of David Gilliland and Burton. Martin placed seventh, Edwards eighth, Juan Pablo Montoya ninth, and Martin Truex, Jr. tenth.[16]

Television coverage for the race, the seventh of a total of thirty-six in the 2009 season, began at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time live in the United States on Fox. Roger Marsh of Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries began pre-race ceremonies with the invocation. Pianist Lewis Warren, Jr. performed the national anthem, and Contest Winner Mark Fredde commanded the drivers to start their engines. No driver had to move to the rear of the grid at the start of the race.[17]

The race began at 2:17 p.m. Jeff Gordon passed Reuitmann almost immediately by the end of the first lap. Three laps later, Kurt Busch collided with Robby Gordon, with the latter sustaining minor damage and both drivers managed to continue. On lap 8, Reutimann took back the lead from Jeff Gordon. One lap later, Jeff Gordon dropped a further position when he was passed by Kenseth. By lap 20, Reuitmann had a lead of about 1.6 seconds over Kenseth. Kurt Busch, who began the race in twenty-sixth, had moved up seven positions to nineteenth by lap 24. On lap 29, Stewart claimed fifth from Menard.[17]

By lap 30, Earnhardt had moved up eight positions to twelfth. Ten laps later, Reutimann had maintained a lead of 1.7 seconds over Kenseth. On lap 42, Marcos Ambrose moved into seventh. Five laps later, Kenseth claimed the lead off Reutimann who was blocked by Casey Mears. On lap 51, green flag pit stops began, as Kenseth made a pit stop handling the lead to Stewart. On lap 54, Kyle Busch became the new race leader after Stewart came into pit road. Kyle Busch made a pit stop one lap later, handing the lead back to Kenseth. By lap 60, Kenseth had built up his lead over Reutimann by over two seconds. Eight laps later, Stewart passed Reutimann for second.[17]

On lap 79, Biffle passed Reutimann for third. Seven laps later, Stewart claimed the lead from Kenseth. During the 97th lap, debris was spotted on the track, prompting the first caution of the race. During the caution, all of the drivers on the lead lap made pit stops. Kenseth reclaimed the lead and maintained it at the restart. On the 109th lap, Kyle Busch's car suffered a cut left front tire from contact with John Andretti, forcing Kyle Busch to come to pit road. Seven laps later, Biffle passed Kenseth for the lead, while Jeff Gordon passed Reuitmann for fourth thirteen laps later. By the 135th lap, Biffle had built a lead over Kenseth to three seconds.[17]

Green flag pit stops began on the 152nd lap; Kenseth made his pit stop on the same lap. Johnson and Biffle made a pit stop the next lap, handing the lead to Jeff Gordon. After pit stops, Biffle reclaimed the first position. On lap 157, Elliott Sadler spun out, causing the second caution. None of the leaders elected to pit under the caution. The race restarted on lap 162 with Biffle in the lead, ahead of Kenseth and Jeff Gordon. By the 190th lap, Biffle's lead was three seconds.[17]

Another round of green flag pit stops began on lap 203 when Truex made a pit stop; Kenseth was the first of the leaders to pit the following lap. On lap 208, Jeff Gordon became the new race leader after Biffle came into pit road. After pit stops, Biffle reclaimed the top position. On lap 220, the third caution was given as Ambrose's car suffered an engine failure. Jeff Gordon and Martin stayed out, while some of the leaders came to pit road.[17]

Jeff Gordon won the race and maintained his lead in the points standings.

Jeff Gordon led the field back up to speed on the restart. On lap 226, Sam Hornish, Jr. spun and Labonte collided with the wall, prompting the fourth caution. During the caution, Johnson, Earnhardt and Hamlin made pit stops. Jeff Gordon stayed out of pit road and the led the field to restart on lap 237. Four laps later, Logano collided with the wall, but escaped with minor damage. On lap 247, Edwards moved into sixth. Four laps later, a fifth caution came out when Robby Gordon's car suffered an engine failure. All of the leaders elected to pit under caution, giving the lead to Earnhardt The race restarted on lap 259. On lap 260, Jeff Gordon moved back into the lead, while Earnhardt fell back to the seventh position. Three laps later, Edwards passed Brian Vickers to move into ninth.[17]

On lap 290, Earnhardt Jr was forced onto pit road after colliding with the wall at turn two. One lap later, Ragan drove to pit road because of overheating issues. On the 294th lap, Edwards reclaimed the lead off Gordon, while Ragan drove to the garage, three laps later. On lap 298, Stewart moved into second after passing Jeff Gordon. Four laps later, a sixth and final caution came out, after Stremme collided with the wall and spun going into turn 3. Jeff Gordon led on the restart. On lap 309, Johnson passed Stewart for the second position, while Jeff Gordon built up a 1.4 second lead four laps later. On the 314th lap, Biffle moved into the fourth position after passing Johnson. By lap 323, Jeff Gordon had increased his lead to 1.7 seconds over Johnson. Jeff Gordon maintained the lead to win his first race of the 2009 season. Johnson finished second, ahead of Biffle in third, Stewart in fourth, and Kenseth in fifth. Martin, Montoya, Kurt Busch, Burton and Edwards rounded out the top ten finishers.[17]